Oblong Friends Meeting House

Oblong Friends Meetinghouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Meeting House in March 2007
Location:	Meetinghouse Rd. on Quaker Hill, Pawling, NY
Nearest city:	Danbury, CT
Coordinates:	41°34′46″N 73°32′32″W / 41.57944°N 73.54222°W / 41.57944; -73.54222Coordinates: 41°34′46″N 73°32′32″W / 41.57944°N 73.54222°W / 41.57944; -73.54222
Built:	1763
Architect:	unknown
Governing body:	The Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling
MPS:	Dutchess County Quaker Meeting Houses TR
NRHP Reference#:	73001182 [1]
Added to NRHP:	January 12, 1973

The Oblong Friends Meeting House is a late 18th-century Friends Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends in the hamlet of Quaker Hill, in the town of Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, USA listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.

Members of the Religious Society of Friends settled on Quaker Hill in the 1730s and sought permission to establish a meeting and build a meeting house in 1740. The first meeting house was constructed across from the present building in 1742, but as membership grew, this building became too small and in 1763, the Yearly Meeting decided to erect "a framed house of timber, the dimensions to be 45 feet (14 m) long, 40 feet (12 m) wide and 15 feet (4.6 m) stud to admit of galleries." This new house was built in 1764 and is the structure that has remained on the site since.

In 1767, the question was raised in the meeting house whether it was "consistent with the Christian spirit to hold a person in slavery". After years of discussion, the question was answered in 1776 by the resolution that meetings were not to accept financial contributions or services from members owning slaves.

During the American Revolutionary War a portion of the Continental Army camped in the nearby hills, both during the fall of 1778 and the winter of 1779. The meeting house was commandeered by General Washington's officers to be used as a military hospital.

In 1828, the New York Meeting of the Society of Friends split into the Orthodox and Hicksite Societies of Friends. From then on, the Hicksites used the Meeting House, whereas the Orthodox Society, which had less members, built their own meeting house in 1831, just 200 feet (61 m) to the northwest. The latter building was later converted into a private residence.

Interior

Membership in the area's Society of Friends declined in the course of the 19th century and the meetings were "laid down" in 1885. The property was acquired by the Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling in 1936 which has preserved the building since then.

Location

The Meeting House is located on the north side of Meeting House Road, about 100 meters from where it branches off from Quaker Hill Road, in the Hamlet of Quaker Hill, Town of Pawling, NY 12564.

External links

• online article by the Purchase Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
• online article by the Historical Society of Quaker Hill & Pawling

References

Hudson Valley portal

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-03-05. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.